On March 18, Trump lashed out at NATO and European leaders for not supporting the US in the attack on Iran. The idea that the bombing of Iran was in response to an “imminent threat” to the US is a lie. We’ve seen this before. Take action first and if it doesn’t pan out like we thought, invent a justification for our act.
Of course, Ukraine worries about ‘losing the Americans’ as global attention shifts to the war in the Middle East. Russia is an imminent threat to Ukraine. And the fall of Ukraine would mean the end to self-rule of 33 million people. Russia strategy is to bleed Ukraine dry by destroying their infrastructure, with a focus on energy.
Also from the BBC, President Zelensky stated that Donald Trump was not on any side of the war:
Ukraine faces missile shortage due to Middle East war, says Zelensky
I particularly like Zelensky’s comment:
“The regimes in Russia and Iran are brothers in hatred and that is why they are brothers in weapons,” Zelensky said. “And we want regimes built on hatred, to never, never win in anything. And we want no such regime to threaten Europe or our partners.”
Russia will continue to buy drones and other equipment from Iran. And of course, Iran needs the money. After the bombing stops, Iran will continue to fund the Revolutionary Guard. Why? Because the current government wants to stay in power, and the Revolutionary Guard has all the weapons. Iran will continue to be a radical, authoritarian controlled country.
On March 17, the Director of National Counterterrorism Center, Joe Kent, resigned. He strongly disagreed with Trump, that Iran posed an imminent threat to the US. He reported to the Tulsi Gabbard, the Director of National Security. Joe Kent had many years serving in the US military, In his resignation letter, he wrote:
“… it is clear that we started this war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby.”
I believe Donald Trump saw Joe Kent on Fox News, and he looked good, so he tapped him for this very important position. Plus, Kent supported the idea that the 2020 election was rigged. I’ve included his biography at the end of this blog.
Trump made it clear in his news conference that he will only supply weapons to Ukraine that they pay for. So, this forced Zelensky to beg for a loan from the European Council. It is a bigThis loan (103 billion dollars) . The President of Hungary, Viktor Orban, is holding up the loan.
EU leaders slam Hungary’s Orban for blocking Ukraine aid package
Orban agreed on the loan in December, last year. Then a missile attack hiit the Druzhba pipeline, which supplied Russian oil to Hungary. Zelensky promised the pipeline would be repaired and the EC would help. It did not stop Orban from using his veto to stop the loan. Orban says the pipeline is already in service.
Viktor Orban is an extreme right wing politician. He faces re-election in April. He is a strong supporter of Donald Trump.
While the rest of the country is focused on Iran and increasing gas prices, I will continue to follow the events in Ukraine. It is certainly a very interconnected world we live in and I fear that policy decisions in Washington, are made without full consideration of the consequences.
More clearly, Putin and Orban pose a real threat to Europe, and ultimately to world peace. The thought of 33 million people, who are defenders of democracy, and proud to be Ukrainians, overun by a brutal dictator, Vladimir Putin, really worries me. Ukraine deserves better.
Stay tuned,
Dave
Trump endorses Prime Minister Viktor Orban for Hungary’s April election
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